Bernard Schoenburg: Andy Manar in the mix for governor in 2018

State Sen. ANDY MANAR of Bunker Hill isn't a billionaire and doesn’t have a name known statewide, but he is being mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for governor in 2018.

"It's humbling to have so many people come to you and say you should give this serious thought," Manar told me in an interview this week.

First elected to the Senate in a close race in 2012, and more easily winning a four-year term in 2014, Manar was familiar with the legislative process, having been chief of staff to Senate President JOHN CULLERTON, D-Chicago.

But Manar said he views his role “less through the lens of the chief of staff,” and “more through the eyes of my experience in local government — balancing budgets, lowering property taxes, negotiating successfully with labor unions.”

Manar was elected alderman in Bunker Hill by the time he was 20, serving four years in that role and four years as mayor. He got his first taste of state politics as a part-time aide to late state Sen. VINCE DEMUZIO of Carlinville. Manar also served on the Macoupin County Board, including being chairman for eight years.

Manar was among Democrats named this weekend in a GREG HINZ column in Crain’s Chicago Business about potential Democratic candidates for governor now that U.S. Sen. DICK DURBIN of Springfield took himself out of the running.

Several people are on the list, some of whom are CHRIS KENNEDY, son of the late ROBERT F. KENNEDY; J.B. PRITZKER, who Forbes magazine says is worth $3.4 billion; U.S. Reps. ROBIN KELLY of Matteson and CHERI BUSTOS of Moline; state Treasurer MIKE FRERICHS; and state Sen. DANIEL BISS of Evanston.

"Regardless of how this moves forward, Democrats have to have a candidate that can bring a uniting message statewide,” Manar said. “And that means we have to have a strategy that is inclusive of the entire state.”

He said first-term Republican Gov. BRUCE RAUNER “has divided our state into pieces,” and has “used that division every day against Democrats.”

“I think Democrats have to become better at delivering a message that resonates with voters because we have the right policies,” Manar added.

Manar has worked across the state to try to reform the school funding formula, so he may be better known than some downstate lawmakers. And while Rauner has shown he is willing to spend tens of millions of dollars on a campaign, Manar said he’s not among candidates who can match such personal spending.

“Personal wealth is a factor,” Manar said. “That’s something I don’t bring to the table. Never have; probably never will. But I think there’s other factors that have to be considered when coming up with a nominee.”

“If we’re going to straight up nominate someone who simply has money with no message and no way to deliver a message and no way to resonate with working-class voters, then we’re probably not going to fare as well as ... we otherwise would,” he said.

Manar said he worked before the November election on helping legislative candidates, including MIKE MATHIS in his unsuccessful race to unseat Rep. AVERY BOURNE, R-Raymond. In that race and others, Manar said, “I don’t think the result was a reflection of anything other than it was a wave election in rural areas.”

Manar is married and and has three children, ages 7, 9 and 11.

“Obviously, family considerations are number one,” he said.

But considerations of a run for governor are there, too.

“I’m going to be part of a productive conversation to make sure that we have a strategy to defeat Bruce Rauner in 2018,” he said.

Mills milestone

Senior U.S. District Judge RICHARD MILLS of Springfield reached quite a milestone this month — 50 years on the bench.

It was on Dec. 5, 1966, that Mills — then of the Cass County city of Virginia — was sworn in as a circuit judge in Beardstown. Mills had been the Cass County state’s attorney. His father, MYRON E. MILLS, had also been the state’s attorney from 1924-1932.

Mills went on to be elected to the state appellate court, and was named a U.S. District Court judge in 1985 by President RONALD REAGAN. During his time as a judge, he also was designated by the U.S. Supreme Court to sit on various federal courts of appeal from 1989-2014, in cities from New York and Miami to San Francisco and Cincinnati.

He also received the Bronze Star for his Army service in the Korean War, and spent 32 years in the Army Reserve, retiring as a colonel.

“I plan to go right ahead as long as I’m able,” Mills told me of his continuing service on the bench. He had retired to senior status in 1997, and said he now does about a third of the work of a full-time judge.

He said he still hears civil and criminal cases.

“I’m at the courthouse every afternoon, except when I have a jury in the box, and then I’m here in the morning as well,” Mills said.

He’s been married 54 years to wife RACHEL, and they have two sons and three granddaughters. This summer, he plans to perform the marriage of one of those granddaughters on a ship on Lake Michigan.

Why still work at age 87?

“There’s something different and new every day,” Mills said. “Things just pop up, and it’s a constant challenge.”

I still remember covering Mills’ in the state appellate court — and how he had a penchant for turning interesting phrases. “This is not a playground,” he admonished someone during a recent court hearing.

But he said his written opinions are a touch less spicy these days.

“The feds don’t go in for the humor as much as we used to on the state court,” Mills told me, “but I still get a zinger in now and then.”

On the mend

Best of luck for a smooth recovery for state Treasurer Frerichs’ 8-year-old daughter ELLA, who broke her leg in two places below the knee a few weeks back with a fall from playground equipment at her Champaign school.

“She has a full leg cast that has limited her mobility, but it has not limited her spirits,” the treasurer said. She missed a week of school, but got cards from classmates days after the accident.

“It was very sweet,” Frerichs said.

Commencement speaker

HOWARD PETERS III of Springfield, who led the Department of Corrections, was the first director of the state Department of Human Services and was also a deputy chief of staff to Gov. JIM EDGAR, is commencement speaker at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale on Saturday.

Peters, who got a master’s in guidance and educational psychology from SIU in 1971, is president of HAP Inc., a consulting firm that deals with areas including criminal justice, human services and health care. He is on several boards and commissions, including the board of counselors at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at SIU, and is assistant pastor of Fresh Visions Community Church in Springfield.

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